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Stunt driver dies while filing “Deadpool 2” in Vancouver

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — “Deadpool 2” star Ryan Reynolds is mourning the death of a motorcycle stunt driver killed during production Monday.

Reynolds released a statement on Twitter a few hours after the accident near the waterfront in downtown Vancouver.

“Today, we tragically lost a member of our crew while filming Deadpool,” the actor wrote. “We’re heartbroken, shocked and devastated … but recognize nothing can compare to the grief and inexplicable pain her family and loved ones must feel in this moment.”

Reynolds, a native of Vancouver playing the Marvel Comics superhero Deadpool in the 20th Century Fox movie, said his heart “pours out to them — along with each and every person she touched in this world.”

The motorcycle crash happened near the Shaw Tower office building, where a crumpled motorcycle was seen lying on its side and a window was smashed.

Nathan Kramchynski, who works on the seventh floor of the building, said he watched rehearsals for the stunt outside the Vancouver Convention Centre. The stunt woman had been riding the motorcycle down a set of stairs from the center and had stopped when she reached the street, he said.

But on the occasion when the accident happened, the driver appeared to pick up speed, crossed the street and swerved to avoid pedestrians before disappearing from his view, Kramchynski said.

“She lost control really quickly. It happened in a split second,” he said. “She was going full throttle and then there’s a building there.”

Another witness, Sharmina Kermalli, said she had just walked into a Starbucks next door to where the accident happened when she heard a loud crash. She ran outside and saw glass still falling on the body of the motorcycle driver.

The name of the stunt woman was not immediately released.

Police said WorkSafeBC, the British Columbia provincial workplace safety agency, and the coroner’s service were investigating. Trish Knight Chernecki of WorkSafe BC said some investigators are looking at any possible occupational health and safety issues while others examine the cause of the crash and prevention in the future.

The last stunt death in British Columbia was in 1996, when a person jumped from a helicopter and a parachute failed to open, she said.

In March 2016, actor Dylan O’Brien suffered injuries on the British Columbia set of the latest instalment of the “Maze Runner” film series. WorkSafe BC said Fox Productions Inc. didn’t rehearse a stunt sequence properly, but Fox said the stunt was thoroughly rehearsed.

A stuntman was fatally injured last month in Georgia during production of “The Walking Dead.” He fell head-first onto concrete about 22 feet (7 meters) below after appearing to try to grab a railing to stop his fall.

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